CMU and KMITL Announce Research and Education Collaboration

Carnegie Mellon University and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang to launch research and education collaboration

Carnegie Mellon University and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, a leading engineering university in Thailand, have announced a long-term collaboration to significantly expand research and education in the areas of information, computing and autonomous technologies.

The collaborative activities, to be collectively known as the Carnegie Mellon — KMITL (CMKM) program, will occur both in Thailand and at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The CMKM program will involve professors, researchers and students from Carnegie Mellon and KMITL, and include several industry partners from Thailand. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering within Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering will play a central role in the CMKM program.

"This partnership brings much-needed capabilities in world-class engineering research and education to Thailand. We are looking forward to working with top talents for ground-breaking research and innovation that will drive the emerging economies of Southeast Asia," said Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, Thailand's minister of education. "There is no better time to put Thailand at the heart of education investment. The Thai government is doing its utmost to provide the best opportunities, privileges, incentives, and above all the commitment to make our collaboration the best we can." 

"This long-term collaboration between CMU and KMITL, in association with the Thailand Ministry of Education, will not only strengthen historic ties between CMU and scholars and alumni in Thailand, it will greatly enhance our shared capacity for research and education in areas that are shaping the global economy," said Carnegie Mellon Interim President Farnam Jahanian. "As this program develops, we look forward to the growth of new international networks of knowledge and intellectual pursuits."

"I am incredibly excited at just the mere thought of collaboration of such global scale," said Suchatvee Suwansawat, president of KMITL. "Today marks the day Carnegie Mellon University and KMITL make history. We are committed to delivering uncompromised research and education in computing, AI, Big Data, and to bring about high impact research to accelerate digital transformation for Thailand and Southeast Asia. It is our vision to make Thailand the Southeast Asia center for advanced research, to make capacity building a reality, and to create a sustainable model for the developing countries."

"KMITL's passion for excellence is a perfect match with ours and I see great potential in our partnership," said James H. Garrett, Jr., dean of CMU's College of Engineering. "This partnership establishes an excellent foundation for even greater collaborations yielding wider impact."

The Carnegie Mellon  KMITL program will focus on collaborative education, research and faculty development programs. The education component will sponsor students for master's degrees and Ph.D. programs in electrical and computer engineering at CMU, where successful students will earn degrees from both institutions.

The research component will consist primarily of teams from CMU, KMITL and industry partners conducting collaborative research in the areas of information, computing and autonomous technologies. The faculty development component will allow faculty from both institutions to collaborate. To facilitate the collaboration with CMU, CMKL University has been established in association with KMITL to administer the CMKM program for research and education activities in Thailand.

"To support the government's Thailand 4.0 initiative and Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) special economic zone, CMKL University aims to be a model of new growth engine that provides world class knowledge and expertise from CMU," said Supan Tungjitkusolmun, president of CMKL University. "CMKL University will work hand in hand with our industrial partners on advanced research to create new innovations. In addition, we are very excited to bring CMU's culture of excellence to transform research and education in Thailand and Southeast Asia."

"This program will enhance our work in areas of information, computing, and autonomous technologies through research and Ph.D. student collaboration," said Jelena Kovačević, head of CMU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "I look forward to seeing the positive influence this new collaboration will have on our department, college, and university."

Hyong Kim, the Drew D. Perkins Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CMU, will direct the CMKM program at Carnegie Mellon, and Akkarit Sangpetch, a faculty member in the computer engineering department at KMITL, will direct the CMKM program in Thailand.

"This collaboration with KMITL is an exciting opportunity for Carnegie Mellon University," Kim said. "Sharing our culture of excellence with KMITL is an important foundation of this collaboration. This program will attract many new talents from Thailand and Southeast Asia. I am looking forward to working closely with KMITL and Thai industry leaders to become true partners in information and computing technologies."